My New Neighbor
by Dracfirewolves
Summary: A certain snaky dark lord, who doesn't look so snaky anymore, becomes Harry's new next-door neighbor...Hp/TR(LV) SLASH!
1. Hostile living environment

**Several prompts have popped into my head lately, this is one of them. Enjoy!  
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**Warnings: Male/male slash, attempted rape in later chapters...I may add more as I go.  
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**Disclaimer:I...do not own Harry Potter...****_Damn._**

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**Chapter 1:** Hostile living environment

It was early in the morning; the colors of the dawn were just beginning to paint the sky, and yet snoring could still be heard throughout the Dursley household on Privet Drive. The Dursleys themselves had not risen to enjoy the soft light of morning, or the songs of waking birds. This, however, did not mean that no one was awake in the home at all.

You see, Harry James Potter was very much awake and busy in the kitchen of that little home on Privet Drive. His hands moved mechanically as he prepared breakfast for his "family" on that lovely morning. His actions seemed focused, but in fact his mind was very far away. His mind was all the way back in that dreary graveyard. You know, the one where poor old Cedric died, the one where Wormtail cut his arm, and what else...oh yeah, the one where VOLDEMORT WAS RESURRECTED!

"Ouch!" Harry hissed as his hand brushed the hot pan that held the abnormal amount of bacon.

He rubbed the burnt spot and quickly tossed some cold water on his hand. Then he stilled to make sure he didn't wake any of the house's occupants (which was very unlikely because they were heavy sleepers). When the snores continued he returned to the task at hand, a bit more alert then before.

It had been two weeks since he returned the Privet Drive for the summer, and he already couldn't wait to go back. Yes, going back would mean that he would have to deal with the next fiasco Voldemort would cause, but he'd take the snake-faced Voldemort over the land-whale Dursleys any day. Mr and Mrs. Dursley, well, they weren't very nice to the raven-haired teen that was their nephew. Their son Dudley was just as bad if not worse. Harry's Uncle Vernon would get physically violent with him, while his Aunt Petunia was verbally abusive towards him. Harry's cousin Dudley was a bit of both and he had an entire gang to help him out.

Dudley was acting strangely this summer; he'd give Harry strange predatory looks that the fourteen year-old was unfamiliar with. What Harry didn't realize is that as the years went by he was becoming a lot more pleasing to the eyes. He had lost most of that baby fat, his frame thin but muscled from quidditch playing; although, if you picked him up, he would still be considered underweight. His hair reached his shoulders, staying slightly tamer, but now instead of a bird's nest he hair had more of a "just shagged" look. Harry's eyes were a mixture of light and dark emerald flecks; he liked to think the bright flecks represented the good things he had seen and the dark flecks represented the hard times. Nowadays though, it seemed like their were more dark flecks then light ones.

Where was I?... Oh yeah, Dudley!...Basically he was becoming a freaking creeper.

_Thump Thump Thump_

_'...They're awake.' _Harry thought depressingly

**Later that evening**

_'Can't these lard-asses do anything besides eat?!'_ The teen wondered moodily, watching disgusted as the two Dursley males devoured the supper he was forced to slave over. He glanced at his aunt who annoyed him just as much. While the other two ate greedily, she would eat almost nothing. It was as if she didn't like Harry's cooking. Harry snorted at the thought, _'No she's just pissed that my cooking's better then hers. That, and she's on that constant 'don't ever eat' diet.'_

When dinner was finished, the Dursley family moved to the living room to enjoy some television. Harry washed the abandoned dishes before heading for his room, not noticing that he was being followed. He was in the front hallway, heading for the stairs when he was whacked in the butt by something flat. He yelped and whirled around to look up at his cousin who was smirking at him, "Did you just spank me?!"

"So what if I did?"

Sometimes he really wanted to punch his cousin, just like Hermione did to Malfoy in third year. With that in his mind he stormed off before he did something that would invoke the wrath of his uncle. As he reached the top of the stairs he tried to pick up the pace towards his room. In doing so, before he could reach his door, he bumped into the new end table that his aunt had placed upstairs earlier that week. The table wobbled, but that wasn't the bad part. The vase that had sat upon the end table was knocked to the floor. Harry flinched at the loud smashed that followed.

"BOY! What did you do?!"

The teen couldn't bear to look back as he heard heavy footsteps behind him. He kept his eyes shut tight in fear of what was going to come next.

"Boy!"

"It was me Dad, sorry!" Came an unexpected reply.

Harry looked up from his spot on the floor to see Dudley leaning by the top of steps. He could hear hear Uncle Vernon grumbling with disgruntled confusion, "Well...er...fine. Just be more careful!" The over-sized man went back to the living room where his programs awaited him.

Harry eyed his cousin suspiciously before quickly pushing himself up and running into his room. He made to close the door when a foot jammed itself doorway. Dudley pushed the door open the rest of the way and sauntered inside. Harry, unsure of what the larger boy was up to nervously backed up. "What do you want Dudley?"

"Now _dear_ cousin, is that any way to thank someone who just saved you from a nasty arse kicking?" Dudley asked in a mockingly sweet tone.

"I-I'm sorry,...thank you, Dudley." The green-eyed teen said softly before turning to attend to Hedwig.

He was suddenly grabbed from behind and thrown onto the bed. Harry yelped as he hit the hard, lumpy mattress. "That's not what I had in mind _Harry_." Dudley jeered as he hover over his smaller cousin, using his hands to trap him on the bed.

"W-What did you have in mind then?"

A weighty hand found his hip and began to move higher, pushing the over-sized T-shirt up. Harry pushed the hand away "What are you doing?!"

"Demanding a little compensation." Lips smashed painfully onto Harry's. The younger of the two boys struggled fiercely, pushing and hitting the bulkier boy's shoulders. When Dudley pulled away he demanded a willing kiss.

Harry gaped at him, "We're cousins!"

"I don't care! I suggest you just give me what I want or I'll tell my dad about the other item you broke."

"I didn't brake anything else!"

"Not yet." Dudley smirked (and yeesh, he made _Malfoy_ look charming) "Now pay up, _cousin."_

Harry whimpered and reluctantly shifted closer to the larger teen. _'This is so wrong!' _he thought. He shakily placed his lips on his childhood bully's mouth. A hand found the back of his head, his lip was bitten and a tongue was forced into his mouth. It was like that for a few moments before Dudley let him go, licked his lips, and left the room.

Harry curled up in the corner of his bed, shaking. He felt like crying as he realized this summer may be the worst one yet.

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**I hope you like this chapter! It should get better in later chapters, but I would love your review...but be nice!  
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**As you can see I wanted to switch things up from the usual rapey uncle. Now Dudley is the pervy creep!  
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**As far as my story ideas go, this is not my major project. That will come another day when I believe I have done enough editing.**

**In the next chapter: We meet the new neighbor...  
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	2. New neighbor

**Another chapter! I figured since the first one got such a positive response, that instead of waiting the full week as I originally intended, I'm giving you guys the next chapter now. This is because I have a few already typed up but I'm kind of an editing maniac.**

**If their are any grammatical errors I apologize in advance...I tried.**

**Warnings: Male/male slash**

**Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own HP.**

**:Parseltongue:  
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**Chapter 2:** New Neighbor

The next day Harry was handed a long list of chores for that day. The only good thing about it was that he would be able to complete them without the added harassment of the Dursley family. No, they were all going to be away from the house, all day. Uncle Vernon's had work, and Aunt Petunia was going shopping and then to one of her snooty friend's place for tea. Dudley would be out and about the town with his gang, good riddance.

Before Harry's aunt left, he saw her peering out the window. She then went into the kitchen with her husband to tell him what she saw. The green-eyed boy took her place by the window and over heard her tell his uncle, "We have a new neighbor, Vernon! It's strange though, I don't recall seeing any moving vans around recently. We'll have to welcome them at some point I suppose. Definitely before that old shrew from up the road, Marilyn Hawthorn, fills their minds with outrageous lies about us!" Harry couldn't help but snort, that Hawthorn lady's "lies" were satisfyingly accurate.

The 14 year-old teen looked out. In the house next to them, he could see a figure move occasionally back and forth through the other window. He couldn't make anything else out...Oh well, probably just another muggle that will buy all that delinquent crap that the Dursleys still spew about him.

He left the window as he heard his relatives heading for the door. "Boy, this house better be spic and span by the time we get back! You know what the consequences will be if it isn't!"

"Yes sir."

With Mr. Dursley's grunt they went out the door. Dudley, being the last one to leave, threw him a wicked grin and licked his lips. Harry shivered and all but ran into the kitchen. When he got there the teen sighed in relief as he heard the front door close and the sound of a car engine start.

It took Harry most of the day to finish the house work. He washed dishes, did the laundry, mopped/swept the floors, and plenty more. He was purely exhausted by four o'clock, having only eaten a bread slice and a couple grapes (anything more would've been noticed by his uncle). He expected the first Dursley to return by five, giving him an hour to complete the last chore: gardening. Harry had saved this task for last since it was his favorite. Gardening, to him, was the perfect way to eliminate the stress that had accumulated during the day. Not to mention, it brought the only decent conversation he'd receive at the Dursleys'; and that's because of the sweet little, black and yellow, garter snake that had made it's home in between the flower bed and the fence.

The teen relocated himself outside on the cool, but sunny summer day. He seated himself by the moderate sized garden and pulled a plastic bag over to him. Today, he was to add a new flower called a Bachelor Button, a blue and purple flower that was considered edible and used in salads. His aunt had wanted to include them in a meal for the next time the Dursleys were to entertain important guests.

As he carefully distributed seeds, the garter snake that had been mentioned earlier popped her head out of her burrow, **:Hello Harry, lovely day isn't it?: **the snake practically yawned.

**:Yes it has been, though I bet you were asleep for most of it, eh Sila?:**

Sila, the garter snake huffed, **:I've been waiting for you to come out all day. I got bored, and fell asleep.:**

**:Sorry, the Dursleys gave me a long list today.:**

**:Aw yes, **_**the Dursleys;**_**your loud, rude, and reptilian hating **_**Kin.**_**: **the she-snake hissed viciously.

Harry raised an eyebrow at Sila, **:OK, what did they do this time?:**

**:It was before you came back to this retched lot. The skinny one spotted me sunbathing on a comfy rock and screamed very loudly. She started chasing me around with a stick that had something hard and wide on the end of it.:**

**:A shovel?: **He asked, pointing to the one leaning against the gardening shed.

**:**_**Yes**_**...I don't like shovels. I don't like your nest-mates either; I wish I were venomous so that I could give them a pieces of my mind!:**

Harry laughed and nodded while trying to pull out a weed that was in the way of his planting. **:I wish you were too.:** he said.

"Now that's not very nice Harry."

Said teen yelped and fell backwards, pulling the stubborn weed with him. When he looked up he saw a man leaning nonchalantly on top of the fence that separated the Dursley yard from the neighbor's. Harry's eyes grew impossibly wide when he realized _exactly _who it was that was leaning on top of the fence. "Voldemort?"

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**_Dun dun dun dun!_**** Review!...please.**

**Next: why is Voldy in a muggle neighborhood?**


	3. The ingenious ploy

**I'm sorry that this chapter took longer than a week to get here! I had mid-term exams which took up all my time and energy. Thank you for all the reviews, I feel so giddy over the fact that people actually like my story idea! **

**I have been ask to mention that s****/8219953/6/ is up for adoption if anyone's interested. If so send the author a message will ya? :D A****nd I am to suggest to you active writers to try Harry /Salazar parings! Preferably sub!Harry! It's a suggestion that I definitely approve of...however HPLV/TR is still number one!**

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**Chapter 3: **The ingenious ploy

Harry could only gape at the sight of the man that smirked down at him. He looked like a slightly older version of Tom Riddle. "Voldemort?"

The teen received an evilly twisted smile in response, "I'm surprised that you recognize me in this form, Harry. Here I was hoping to surprise you for when I would stroll into your precious little muggle sanctuary and end your nuisance once and for all."

After that was said, Harry finally found his voice, "W-What are you taking about? The wards keep you from getting in here!...Hey...your not...are you_...no!"_

"Why yes, yes I am."

"_Your_ our new _neighbor?!_"

Harry stood up from where he was on the ground, eying his enemy,"...Why?"

Voldemort (or Riddle) smirked at him, "It's as you said, the blood wards keep me out. They still do...but not for long."

The teen raised an eyebrow, "And just what makes you think that?"

"Oh Harry, it's so adorable how naive you are." Harry glared at the bizarre comment. "I seem to recall using _your_ blood in the ritual. Think boy, what advantages could that hold for me?"

Harry did think on it, and he didn't like what he came up with. Sila noticed him tense up, so she curled around his ankle in an attempt to comfort him. "You're keyed into the wards."

"In a way."

"What do you mean?"

Riddle pushed off the fence and began to slowly walked towards the front yard. Harry followed along, unwilling to give him a chance to try anything. "It's vampire rules now, dear Harry. All I need is a simple invitation, then I'll be able to enter and leave the wards anytime I like."

"Well I'm sure as hell not going to give one to you."

The man threw a glance over Harry's shoulder, "You won't have to."

The teen looked behind him just as a beige van pulled into the drive way; he realized his aunt had come home. He heard Riddle whisper behind him, "Dumbledore can't save you now, brat."

Aunt Petunia stepped out of the car.

"Mrs. Dursley!"

Petunia Dursley looked to her right and saw her nephew standing by the fence. On the other side of said fence stood a handsome, dark-haired man who appeared in his early twenty's. He flashed her a charming smile, "Petunia Dursley, right? Harry and I were just talking about you."

She flushed lightly and quickly stepped over to the two, "Oh were you? Nothing too unpleasant I hope."

"Oh no, no, not at all. In fact we were discussing your lovely cooking. Ah, where are my manners," he held out his hand to the horse-faced woman, "Tom Riddle, I'm your new neighbor." Harry looked at the man as if he was insane. "...Aunt Petunia." he mumbled.

"Oh not now Harry, why don't you head inside." Without taking her eyes off the newcomer, Harry's aunt accepted Riddle's hand and shook enthusiastically. "You know, instead of merely hearing about my cooking, why don't you come over for dinner tonight and try some of it. My husband and I would _love_ to properly welcome you to the neighborhood."

"_Aunt Petunia!"_

"That sounds delightful!"

"Brilliant, dinner will be ready by seven, we'll see you then?"

Riddle preformed a mock bow, and flashed one more dazzling smile, "Of course."

Harry felt the urge to gag and so did Sila (who then decided to return to her burrow before the evil, shovel-lady spotted her). Harry then realized that Riddle had just got exactly what he wanted. When his aunt trotted away giddily he glared at the dark lord, who in turn smirked wickedly at him. "See you tonight Harry." With that the man left as well.

Furious and frightened, Harry stormed back into the house. What was he going to do?! Could he contact Dumbledore? No, a letter wouldn't make it in time, and the Dursleys would never allow him to let Hedwig out anyway. He needed to come up with something now!

He leaned against his old cupboard. _'Come on Harry, you haven't gone through years of crap just to die in this hell hole!' _He thought hard and began pacing the hallway. He had figured that it was Slytherin thinking that had kept him alive at the Dursley's all these years; so that same kind of thinking will help him now. He thought on how Riddle needed an invitation to get in. _'Invitations can be revoked.'_ Harry felt like a light bulb just lit up in his head.

He put the most innocent look on his face that he could manage, and went to find his aunt. He found her in the kitchen, probably planning what she would make Harry cook for dinner, since she actually wasn't a very good cook herself. He walked up to her, "Aunt Petunia?"

She snapped out of her giddy state and glared at him. "What do you want boy?!" she snapped.

"I just want to tell you how nice it is that you invited Mr. Riddle over for dinner."

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well yeah, I mean since he just went through that _awful_ break up, it's good that he'd get to spend time with people instead of being left to close in on himself."

_That_ got her attention. "Break up, you say? Oh my, why would anyone want to leave a man that dashing? He must need...comforting." Harry's eye twitched at the underlying meaning of her words.

"Yeah, he told me how life just didn't feel the same with out Max around."

"M-Max?"

Harry mentally smirked, "His boyfriend of course!"

"BOYFRIEND?!"

"Yep!" With that Harry strolled away. Inside he was laughing hysterically; if this works Voldemort would be pissed. Now, he didn't have anything against gays; he wasn't all that interested in the girls himself, but the Dursleys (the two adults anyway) were just a _tad_ homophobic. He only had to wait now. "Boy!"...and cook dinner.

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** So there it is, I hope you liked it! Review!**

**Next: Dinner time...  
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	4. Dinner

**It's here, the next chapter! It took longer than it should've sorry!  
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**Warnings: abuse  
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**Chapter 4: **Dinner

Seven arrived soon enough, dinner was made, and Harry was eagerly waiting near the front door. Vernon and Dudley had been filled in on what was about to happen, and were oddly quiet while they ate that night. He hoped to Merlin this would work. His tension reached it's peak when the sound of knocking finally reached his ears. Harry ran to the stairs and climbed half way up before turning and sitting down. No matter how unsure he was of his plan, he was going to stick around and see what happens.

As the knocking continued his aunt walked into the hall with a sour look on her face. Reluctantly, she opened the door just enough to look out. There stood Voldemort/ Tom Riddle, looking like Christmas came early, "Good evening Mrs. Dursley!"

"E-evening Mr. Riddle." Aunt Petunia replied lowly.

"Oh, let's not be so formal, after all we'll soon be getting more acquainted..." unbeknownst to Mrs. Dursley, Riddle held his yew wand eagerly behind his back, waiting for the stick-like women to open the door and let him inside.

"About that, it has come to my attention that dinner may not the best idea."

"...Pardon?"

"I must cancel our original plans."

"I don't understand."

"I'm afraid you can't join us for dinner!"

"T-That's alright, if this is a bad time we can reschedule..." Harry could hear the subtle anger flavoring the man's voice.

"I don't think so." That was Petunia's final word on the manner as she closed the door on him and returned to her own meal. She did not hear the loud thump that followed afterward.

Harry could feel the confusion and anger radiating from behind the front door. He got up and opened it himself to see Riddle sitting on his arse all the way back at the sidewalk looking dumbfounded, the wards had thrown him off the property. Dark eyes turned crimson and flickered onto him. "The bloody hell?"

The teen shook his head and grinned smugly, "I guess getting an invitation isn't as easy as you thought it would be."

Riddle snarled at him, then raised his fist and and slammed it on the blood ward. The man growled, "So you had intelligence enough to inform them of my identity; no matter, I'll find a way in eventually." Just before he could return to the house next door, Harry spoke up, "You know, I actually didn't even think to do that, but they wouldn't have believed me anyway."

_'That, or they would've been pissed that I brought a lunatic on their doorstep and take it out on me.'_

Riddle looked back at him, "If you haven't told them, then what in Salazar's name just happened?!"

Harry shrugged innocently, "I told them you were gay and just broke up with some guy named Max...Goodnight!" The boy waved goodbye and closed the door, leaving Riddle gaping at it yet again.

Tom Riddle had remained rooted to the same spot for about ten minutes before he could establish some form of coherent thought and returned to his "house". He absentmindedly enter the living room and seated himself on one side of the comfortable burgundy couch. _'…Max?...That boy actually had the audacity to...Gryffindor my arse!' _he thought with a angry huff. He wondered whether or not he should go make himself some dinner, but decided against it; he had lost his appetite.

Later we find Riddle still sitting on the couch trying to concoct another plan to get to Potter. The boy had always been an obnoxious thorn in his side, but this last attempt to ruin his plan was something the dark lord actually would've found pretty laughable... if it hadn't of happened to him. He had to admit that he did not see that coming. He was partially expecting Potter to have told them who he was; he had figured that he would've cleverly manged to find a way in before the invitation was removed (maybe with something as simple as pushing the woman out of the way before she could close the door). He was caught completely off guard from the absurd scheme the brat had prepared. Riddle decided this was Potter's way of challenging him and said challenge was accepted. He will find a way into that house; for now though, he'll give the teen points for creativity.

He spent maybe an hour stewing in his thoughts before his brainstorming was interrupted by a muffled sound. There was a moment of silence. Riddle was about to pass off the unknown disturbance as nothing, but then it came again, perhaps louder than the first. These noises began to sound like raised voices and something else that he couldn't identify. He took out his wand, pointed it in the direction the sounds were coming from, and cast a strong listening charm. What he heard was something completely unexpected.

_"__WORTHLESS FREAK!"_

Riddle jumped at the ferocious shout. What on earth was going on in their? A loud thud followed the yelling, as if...someone was being thrown against the wall. The listening charm allowed him to hear the unnerving sound of a bone being broken. Then, a pained cry rang out. He wasn't so sure he wanted to hear more...

"Please Uncle! I'm sorry!"

He knew that voice, there was no mistaking it. That was Potter. The listening charm expired when Riddle's wand fell from his hands. He knew what was happening, he wanted to deny it, but he knew. His little nemesis was not living the pampered life that he, and the entire wizarding world, had believed he was living. The dark lord fell back into his seat. Well, now that he knew the question was...did this change anything?

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**Poor Harry, sorry man it had to be done. Well now Tom knows the awful truth; what's he gonna do about it? That's _his_ Harry they're hurting dammit!**

**Next: Harry has to leave the "safety" of the wards...why?  
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	5. The job

**Man, I wasn't sure that I'd be updating tonight, I've been a little sick lately. Anyway, here it is, next chapter!  
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**Chapter 5: **The job

Harry woke to the familiar sting of pain. His clumsy nature struck again when last night he had tripped and dropped a couple dirty dinner plates that broke on impact. Let's just say that it had been awhile since he'd seen his uncle that angry. The raven-haired teen sat up, but winced at the pain in his chest. It felt like one of his ribs were either broken or fractured; either way it hurt. He stumbled out of bed; Hedwig hooted worriedly at him. He reached her cage and patted her reassuringly, "I'm going to be fine Hedwig, really... I bet your tired of being so cooped up. I'm sorry girl, you know I'd let you out if I could." She hooted once more.

"Boy!" Harry sighed _'Just another day in hell.'_

He made his way downstairs where his uncle stood glaring at him scathingly. "I'm sorry Uncle Vernon I'll get to work on breakfast." he insisted to avoid the man's wrath.

"Forget it boy, There's something else I you have to do." The huge man grunted.

"What?" _'Extra chores?'_

"Petunia and I feel that we have carried your wait around long enough!" It took most of Harry's self-control to keep his face void of anger over the ludicrous statement. "Today, you are to go and get a job, and don't you dare comeback until you have one!" With that Harry found himself shoved outside, the sound of the door being locked clicked behind him. The teen stared back at the door, _'OK...' _A job huh? That may actually be the break he needed. Most people wouldn't normally think something like that, but hey, anything to get out of that house and away from his "family."

Oh crap, he forgot about Riddle! He glanced at the neighboring house. It was quiet; he couldn't see anything in the windows and it didn't sound like there was any activity inside. Maybe the man was still asleep?

**Meanwhile**

The Dark Lord rolled over in his large bed, his limbs tangling in the black and crimson colored sheets. His eyes were still sealed shut by his his heavy slumbering. He rolled once more only to fall off the bed side with a loud _THUD... _and a soft snoring sound soon followed.

**Back with Harry**

Maybe he could sneak past? He'd probably be gone for most of the day so Voldemort might not even realize that he had left! That thought in mind, Harry hurried down the street making sure to duck under the windows of his new neighbor's house, pausing only to listen for any sign of ambush.

Soon enough he was in the city wondering how he would go about getting a job... He stopped by the open door of a small thrift shop, "Hey! Are you guys hiring?!" The guy a the cash register just looked at him as if he was some kind of weirdo...the nerve, right?! Eventually the guy started laughing at him a bit, "Sorry buddy!" he said, then he seemed to take pity on him and told him, "You might have better luck with food places, mate."

"Thanks"

He spent most of that day walking into random restaurants, and being rejected by all of them. Most weren't hiring, a couple said he didn't have the required experience, one restaurant Harry had simply walked out of when he realized almost all of the employees didn't speak a word of English. The teen finally stopped and leaned against the wall of a building. He sighed, it was getting late and he was still unemployed. Uncle Vernon would stay true to his word, leaving him to sleep outside tonight and hope that Voldemort didn't come looking for him. He pushed off the wall to make his way to the park (it had plenty of concealed places to rest in).

He made it half way down the street before a door slammed open in from of him. A middle-aged woman with curly brown hair stomped out furiously, Harry noticed that she was on the phone. "No it's not OK, Mindy! What part of two-weeks notice didn't you understand!...Don't get fresh with me! Hello? Hello?! _Damn!_" She snapped the phone shut, growled, and then finally noticed Harry who gulped nervously, "Hey Kid," She snapped, " you want a job?"

"Uh,... yeah."

"Well you got one, follow me." The woman promptly turned and headed back inside. Harry followed, looking up at the sign of the building he assumed he'd be working in from now on; the sign said: _Linda's Diner. _They were walking past maroon booths and small black tables. There were some people who stopped eating to stare at the woman who had been screaming outside. One of the waitresses were shaking their head in amusement. Harry was lead behind the counter and into a back room. The brunette woman opened a locker, reached in and threw a black apron at him.

"What do you know about waitering, kid?"

"...Politely ask what the customer wants from a menu? Um, Clean the table once they leave?"

"Close enough, but we do things a little differently here. I normally, personally know most of the customers that come in here, and sometimes they can get to be a little much...or drunk. So if anyone's giving you a hard time, I still want you to take their orders, but don't be afraid to set em straight... within reason. 'Customer's always right' my arse!" The woman stuck her head out the door and shouted, "Staff meeting!" She turned back to Harry, "Oh, and if you haven't figured it out yet, I'm Linda."

Three people walked in, two identical girls that appeared to be a little older than Harry and a middle-aged man. _'This is everybody?' _As if reading his mind the woman, Linda, who had hired him not moments ago, answered his thoughts, "You're wondering why there is only the four of us. We had another girl, Mindy, but you heard how that worked out. This place doesn't need a lot of staff; the only demanding position being waitressing. The cook, Eddy is the only person we need working the kitchen; this guy is _amazing, _you'll see." She pointed to the stout, dark-haired man who donned a striped brown and black t-shirt under a lightly food-stained white apron. He smiled at him while wiping the flour on his hands onto his apron.

Linda gestured to the two girls who seemed very giddy at the sight of Harry "The twins are your fellow waitresses." They were both tall, blondes; their hair was long, but tied into low ponytails. Under the black aprons that matched Harry's; the twins wore tank tops, each a different color. It would have been impossible to tell the two apart if not for the difference in clothing colors, and the black streak in the left girl's hair. Linda continued her introductions, "The one in the blue is Adele, and the on in the red with the black streak is Carrie."

They both eagerly stepped up to him; each taking a hand to shake excitedly. "Oh my god your so adorable!** And we haven't** **had new a boy employee in a while!** The job is waitressing so do we call you a waitress? **No you dummy, the proper term is waiter! **Not for him it's not, he's way to pretty to be a waiter; in fact, he's our new little protege waitress! **I guess I can picture that...stick around kid, we'll teach you how to get good tips from the fellas.**" Harry blinked at them bemusedly, _'You know, if I wasn't gay I would probably find this whole conversation insulting.'_

Linda laughed at there antics, "OK now! Let's not scare away the new girl- I mean guy! Sorry."

Harry laughed, "It's alright I often pictured myself to be the girl in a relationship, I'm gay."

"P**E**R**F**E**C**T**!**" Eddy, who had remained silent since coming into the backroom; rolled his eyes and clapped his hands at the twins, who scurried out the door back to their jobs. Eddy returned to the kitchen after preforming a mock bow to Harry and Linda. The teen turned to his new boss, looking at her questioningly. "He's mute." she clarified.

Harry spent the rest of that day learning the specifics of his job. Basically, all he had to do was help Adele and Carrie with taking orders; cleaning tables and floors; taking out trash; and making sure the bill is paid. He enjoyed his new job as he observed how the twins handle the regular customers. Everything about the place was friendly, and his co-workers were fairly humorous; he even caught Eddy dancing in the kitchen at one point while preparing hamburgers. At the end of his shift, Harry was assigned a locker to place his apron in. Then, he waved goodbye to his co-workers, smiling brightly. When he walked out the door he did not notice the twins squealing over his "adorable" smile.

As he reached privet drive he made sure to run to the Dursley property so that Voldemort couldn't get the drop on him. The teen knocked on the front door which was soon opened by an annoyed Petunia, "Well?" she asked coldly. He replied, "I've found a job as waiter in a small local diner." She eventually let him in and soon enough he heard, "Get to work on dinner, Boy!"

He was unaware of the figure in the next-door window that had curiously watched him enter the house with a conflicted crimson gaze.

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**Next: a little Tom and Harry confrontation...with special guests**.


	6. The professor, aristocrat, and dog

There, a nice long chapter for you guys!

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**Chapter 6:** Enter: the professor, the aristocrat, and the dog

Harry had been working at his new job for a full week now and he loved it! He was a little exhausted from all the the hours he'd taken up, but it was well worth it if it got him out of the Dursley house. He was meeting people who didn't automatically assume that he was some mentally disturbed delinquent. The Dursleys' nasty rumors had not spread to this end of town; for that he was grateful. His co-workers had taken to him rather well. The twins acted like protective older sisters whenever a customer had gotten too much for Harry to handle, *cough* perverts *cough*. Linda was still a bit stern around him, but he felt that she was warming up to him. Eddy was a riot all on his own and he didn't even have to make a sound. He was sometimes like a quieter Molly Weasley, as he would often made a delicious dish just for Harry when the teen was on his breaks. He would make hand signals that suggested "You're too skinny!"

Speaking of quiet, he had hardly heard a peep from Riddle lately, maybe he had left? But the man didn't seem like the type to give up easily. So everyday he left with as much stealth as he could muster, sneaking by the always eerily quiet house. He even took complex routes to the diner to make sure he wasn't followed.

Harry was up bright and early to cook breakfast. He would've have snatched a piece for himself, but his aunt had begun a habit of waking as early as he did. He turned to leave for work, and of course his aunt was in fact awake. She was looking out the window, and Harry heard her say to herself, "Why in blazes would those two men choose to visit that Riddle character at this hour?"

Harry smirked, as he walked out the door he suggested "Maybe he invited some friends over for some kind of monthly orgy or something?" He couldn't help but snicker at the choking sound _dear _Petunia made. Although, he did glance over at the next house; he couldn't help but wonder who was visiting Voldemort today. It may not spell good news for him.

**TRHP**

When he had gotten up that morning, Tom Riddle dressed in a fitting, dark red shirt and black trousers; then he had gone downstairs to brood in his usual chair in the living room of his house. He had been shocked...again. He knew that the boy was frequently leaving the safety of the wards; he didn't know why, but he knew he was leaving much earlier than Riddle when would like to be awake. He pulled on his hair, frustrated by the fact that every time he had tried to follow the bane of his existence, he'd lose him in the crowd of the blasted city.

Riddle had taken to observing the boy when he returned from wherever he had been. He would peer out the window and catch glimpses of dark flecks in those once completely vibrant-green eyes. The memory brought him back to what he had over heard about a week ago. He wasn't sure what to do with the new found information. It was a disturbing thought that the "Golden Boy" was abused. It was internally conflicting for Tom; on one hand a _magic child_ was being mistreated by the worst kind of lowlife muggles_, _and on the other hand it was _Harry Potter _who was being mistreated by the worst kind of lowlife muggles. On second thought, that last part didn't sound nearly as satisfying as it should have been; in fact, he felt a pang of anger over the fact that someone besides himself was causing the teen misery. He had to wonder if Dumbledore knew...

His musings were interrupted by a loud knocking; someone was at the door. Riddle stood up and moved to the front hall to look out the peep hole of his door. When he recognized his two visitors he opened the door and silently motioned for them to come in side. The first man said, "Good morning Tom, I must say I am surprised to see you awake at this hour. We figured we would have to break in and try wake you ourselves."

Tom smirked at his long-time friend, "Easier said then done, Severus."

Lucius Malfoy, who stood next to Severus sneered to himself, "Don't I know it." He recalled the last time he had tried to wake his Lord up too early in the morning. "For a wizard as paranoid as yourself, you sure do sleep like your dead. I doubt you would even so much as stir if the final battle to _your own_ _war _occurred in your front yard."

Riddle chuckled, these two had often known just how to help him relax when faced with a very stressful problem. And the topic of Harry Potter always brought the worst kind of stress. "What brings you two devils to my _humble abode?_"

Snape conjured himself a cup of coffee and took a slow sip. Riddle raised an eyebrow, "Sometime before winter would be wonderful, Severus." The potions master finally replied, "We merely were curious as to why our lord had not returned to the manor in some time. Your familiar has been thoroughly traumatizing the inner circle; I believe she's a tad put off that you did not take her with you."

Riddle smirked as he pictured one of Nagini's fits, "I did not intend to be staying this long, and my task is still not complete. I shall retrieve her a little later; I do in fact miss that amusing temper of hers." He walked over to a window his two best men followed him, "The boy, he knows I'm here, but he hasn't alerted the old coot or his order of the fried chickens. He managed to stop me from entering the house; however, I've found that he has been frequently leaving it anyway."

Lucius blinked, "He leaves the wards?"

The blonde received a nod, "Yes, I have been trying to find out where he goes. I don't know how the brat does it, but he has evaded me at every turn. I know he goes into the city, after that I lose his trail." A moment later, the front door to Number Four quietly opened with said teen stepping outside and over to the sidewalk. Tom heard Lucius growl behind him, "Well since we're here why don't we try ambushing the little nuisance."

Riddle was still hesitant from the uncertainty about how he should handle Potter knowing what he knew now, though he soon nodded in agreement with Lucius's idea and followed the men out.

**TRHP**

Harry was particularly alert as he began to pass Voldemort's house, as if knowing today was going to go a tad differently. He found that his instincts were correct when the door opened to reveal not only Riddle, but Malfoy Sr. and Snape. _'I knew that git was on Snake-face's side...well Not-So-Snake-Faced-Anymore's... never mind.'_

Harry's stance had the slightest crouch to it, prepared to run when necessary. He was aware that Riddle had been trying to follow him to work, but the raven-haired teen had always made sure that he lost him in the twists and turns of the busy city streets. It takes a while to do so, which is why he always gets up so early. His shift for today didn't start for another couple of hours; plenty of time to lose Tommy Boy and his two Death Munchers.

Snape and Malfoy moved to either side of him, sneering. Riddle blocked the path in front of him. All directions were blocked except for one, but he'd be damned if he was going to run back to the Dursley house. Besides, he promised Linda that he would work a double shift today.

Harry didn't even bother to listen for Riddle's usual "your gonna die" speech. Malfoy and Snape saw he was about to move and fired stunners at him. The teen ducked and let the spells pass over him to hit his assailants instead. As both crashed to the ground, the teen took that chance to charge at Riddle. The man pulled out his wand, but before he could take aim or utter a word Harry's knee was brutally slammed in a very sensitive place between his legs. The dark lord groaned in pain as he slowly slumped to the ground. Harry hissed at him, **:That was for Cedric, you prick!:** Then he ran for the city.

**TRHP**

After about five minutes, Riddle was able to push himself off the ground, brushing off hist shirt and pants. He cast _Enervate_ over the other two. "He took off, let's hurry before we lose him!" he shouted.

They tried to catch up with the teen before he reached the first crowed of muggles, but with no success. It was difficult to keep that wild, raven hair in their sights. Riddle was determined not to lose the boy this time; he was going to catch him this time and when he did he was going to wring that pretty little neck ...wait, pretty what?! Riddle shook his head and continued the chase. At this point, Lucius and Severus had fallen behind, though he took no notice. He was practically barreling through the muggle crowd, deaf to the annoyed and startled shouts of those who struggled to remove themselves from the fuming man's path.

He saw Potter glance back at him, roll his eyes, and ducked into an alley. The dark lord followed and immediately came to a halt when he was faced with a dead end. He looked around, there was now way that the boy could have possibly gotten past him. Then, he spotted a pile of crates; tufts of black hair were moving behind them. Riddle snorted, and here he was thinking that the brat may have had a brain after all. He reached for the black tufts and yanked them up. He did not expect the very pissed off black cat that came up with them.

"GAAAH!"

Riddle escaped that alley with a face full of angry red scratches. He stormed off to look for his companions, pausing only to snarl at the unfortunate muggle tourist who stopped him to ask for directions. The stout man ran for his life and Riddle stomped off growling, with eyes flashing red.

**TRHP**

Back behind the crates, Harry was laughing into his hand. The black cat trotted back to it's original resting spot. Harry smiled at it and stroked it's fur, "Good kitty." The cat meowed at him then took off after a rat that chose that moment to scurry out from under a crate. The teen sat back and closed his eyes, he figured that he could wait there until his shift at the diner. He was on the verge of falling sleep before he heard a sharp bark in front of him. Green eyes snapped open, "Whoa!" In front of him was a large, black and russet German Shepard.

The great beast of a canine wagged it's tail and tilted it's head at him cutely. "Hello," said Harry awkwardly, "You're a big fella, aren't you?" With a quick peek he found that the dog was a boy, but he also saw ribs protruding from the sides of the animal, even with all that fur. "You look hungry, boy." The dog whimpered as if to agree. Running a hand through the soft fur, Harry got an idea. "Come on, I know just how to fix that!" He received an eager bark.

After checking to see if the coast was clear, Harry lead the dog down a few streets, turning down another alley that lead to the back door of Linda's Diner. He knocked on the door a few times. It only took a few moments until Eddy opened the door. The man looked down at the dog and raised an eyebrow at his young co-worker.

The teen grinned hopefully at him, "Hi Eddy, my friend here was wondering if you had any extra, _juicy_, chunks of chunks of meat that you weren't using." The cook gave Harry a look. "Please Ed? He looks so hungry." As if on cue, the Shepard sat up on his haunches, tilted his head, and pawed at the air with a hungry whimper. Ed sighed and went back into the kitchen; when he returned a large uncooked steak. He tossed it to the canine who jumped up and caught it with a wag of his tail and a happy, muffled bark. The dog nuzzled against Harry in thanks and trotted off to go enjoy his lunch.

Harry waved goodbye to the plucky dog, then turned back to the cook, "Thanks Eddy!" The man smiled and winked. Suddenly, he held up his hand in a "Wait there" gesture; he re-entered the backroom once more. Then, Harry's vision was engulfed in black from the apron that was suddenly hurled at his face. "OK, OK, I'm going." Harry said as he tied his apron on. The teen walked off to take the nearest table's order.

**TRHP**

Tom Riddle and his two companions were seated on a lone bench. Lucius and Severus were leaning as faraway as they could from him as he silently fumed, glaring at the pavement in front of him. They had been searching high and low, street after irritating muggle street, for the Brat-Who-Just-Won't-Sit-Still-Long-Enough-To-Get-Cursed. They couldn't find anything!

Lucius Malfoy decided to be the one to break the excruciating silence, "Potter can't run forever, and he has to return to Privet Drive at some point; perhaps we should wait to catch him on his way back?" Riddle considered this. Severus stood and added, "It's noon now, we should get some lunch before we leave. I've been meaning assess this diner that I've heard good things about. I intended to stop by it anyway."

Riddle scoffed, "Here I was thinking that you were here due to concern for my well being,"

"We all make mistakes." replied Snape with a smirk. He turned and strolled off in the direction of the place he had in mind, the other two men followed close behind. They reached an average sized building, the lord and the aristocrat raised their eyebrows at the quaint little establishment, never knowing that this sort of place suited the professor's tastes. With a shrug they followed Severus into "Linda's Diner."

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**I hope that was nice and eventful for ya! I need to add to this story's outline before another chapter can be uploaded. That, and I want to update "sweet protector" Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Review!**

**Next: Guess who is the dark tiro's waiter is for the afternoon...**


	7. Dining encounters

**Sorry that this took so long! **School has been keeping me a tad preoccupied, and I've run out of pre-written chapters for _My New Neighbor._ It might be awhile before the next because I want to have a couple chapters ready in advance.

**Dear rude reviewer (who's was so much of a coward that they commented as an anonymous 'guest'):** Screw you. This fic wasn't meant to be realistic so if you don't like it, don't read it! Besides, 300 other people seem to think otherwise!

I appreciate critique since I am a fairly new writer, but I will not put up with rudeness.

**As for everyone else thank you for all the positive reviews! It's been fantastic motivation!**

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**Chapter 7: **Dining encounters

Riddle allowed Severus Snape to take the lead in this unfamiliar area. He and the eldest Malfoy followed him to a maroon booth in the corner. Once they took their seats, a blonde muggle girl with a black streak in her hair swiftly made her way over to them. She greeted them with a polite smile and handed them menus before wandering over to another table. Tom let his eyes skim through the meal options; it seemed that this diner wasn't restricted to a certain cuisine. The quaint little place seemed to offer a little bit of everything. He was completely focused on deciding what to order; but if Riddle had glanced up from his menu, then he would have spotted unruly raven hair, and the green-eyed teen attached to it, who was currently wiping down one of the empty round-tables only a few feet away.

~HPTR~

Harry took the wet rag and roughly scrubbed at the light brown smudge of left over food on the smooth round-table. He was getting rather frustrated because the smudge would not go away. He repeatedly sprayed the supposedly 'strong' cleaning solution on the spot before scrubbing some more... Nope, the blasted thing was still there! Harry growled at the stubborn smudge.

There was light snickering next to him, he looked up and threw a glare at Carrie, not realizing that his mouth formed a cute, but put off, pout. She was laughing at him now, "Oh, don't be such a sour puss!" The taller girl gestured to the table behind them, "How about you go take booth five's order and I'll handle the table washing." She leaned closer to him and whispered, "Later, I'll show you where Eddy keeps the _good _cleaning spray! Shh, don't tell him or he'll re-hide it!"

"...Why would he do that?"

"He doesn't want_ our_ job to be too easy! Mean, right?!" Apparently she wasn't looking for an answer because after she said that she walked off.

Harry shook his head and sighed at his co-workers' oddness, then he turned around to complete his part of the deal. He froze before he could take the first step.

He saw Snape, Malfoy, and VOLDEMORT sitting in booth five, In the diner that HE worked in!...Of course they were! Of course they were sitting their! It wouldn't be Harry Potter's life if they weren't. He _knew_ that this day had been going too smoothly!

Harry squeaked, _squeaked,_ and dove under the table of the neighboring booth just as the sound drew the attention of the three men who look over to where he had been standing. They looked at each other, shrugged, and went back to their menus.

The teen peeked out from under booth four to get a good look at them. Of all places in the world these men could have of gone for a bite to eat, why the hell did they pick here?! Sure Linda's Diner had built it's self a pretty good reputation around these parts, but what on earth made it attract a surly potions professor, a muggle racist, and a dark lord?! Harry was forced to attempt the only thing that he could think of to escape this situation...He started crawling, on hands and knees, under table to table. He weaved around chairs and crawled by a few customers who were looking at him strangely; like he was some kind of weirdo or something! He wasn't weird, just desperate!

He was nearly at the entrance to the kitchen, _'Almost there...'_

"Harry!"

_'Shit.'_ he thought. Linda caught him.

"What on earth are you doing down there? Come on, get up!" Harry shot up, hastily, but stiffly. He didn't have to turn around to know that the very eyes he was trying to remained unnoticed by were directly on him. "Are you alright, you look a bit pale?" Linda asked, a little concerned.

"I'm fine." he assured.

Linda raised an eyebrow at him, but accepted his answer, "If you say so. I think booth five, in the corner there, is waiting for someone to take their order."

"I'd rather not." Harry mumbled.

"What was that?"

He spoke up, "I have a bad history with those three."

"What kind of bad history?"

Harry shrugged a little, "Oh, two of them hate my existence and one of them has been trying to kill me for most of my life."

"Oh dear!" the diner owner said, glancing at the men. "...Well...I never said you had to be nice to them!" With that she suddenly grabbed Harry by the shoulder, whirled him around, and pushed him in the direction of booth five.

Harry soon found himself standing in front of booth five, reluctantly holding up a small notepad and pen. He was frozen in front of glamoured brown eyes that were seeping with crimson. He just barely heard Linda say, "Sorry for the wait, sirs!" and did not say anything himself until his boss kicked him in the back of the leg. "W-what will it be?" he asked dejectedly.

~HPTR~

Tom could not believe the sight in front of him. There was no way that Harry Potter was standing there, ready to take their lunch orders! His luck was not like Potter's! This had to be a trick, an illusion! Maybe his obsession with the boy has finally made him lose his mind. There was_ NO WAY_ that _POTTER_ was standing before them, in a black apron, blushing rather _deliciously!_

"Well, what are you having?" the boy repeated a little more impatiently.

The sound of his voice made Riddle snap out of his daze. His surprised expression stretched into an evil smirk. After the woman had walked away, he saw Lucius reach for his wand. Immediately, Riddle kicked him in the shin from under the table. He shook his head at the blonde, then turned back to Harry and all but purred, "Hello _Harry, _I never would have thought that we'd ever run into to each other like this. I must say this is quite an interesting situation that we find ourselves in."

Harry rolled his eyes, "I wouldn't say interesting, you tell me what you want to eat, I'll tell the cook; not much to it really. Now, do you want lunch or not? If not, don't think that I can't kick you out!" He felt a severe lack of confidence in that statement.

Riddle chuckled and finally ordered Chicken Panini, with a peach and ginger tea; Snape ordered a Turkey and Cucumber Sandwich, with a water; Malfoy asked stiffly for a Chili-Spiced Salmon Salad, with a green tea. No words could accurately describe Harry's relief when he finished jotting down the food order and bolted away, much to the amusement of the dark lord.

The teen ran to the counter, all but slamming the order down, causing Ed to raise an eyebrow at him. Harry threw an aggravated look at Linda, "I can't believe you just did that to me!" The curly haired woman snickered at him, "You seemed to have handled yourself just fine. What did you think they were gonna do, knife you in public?"

"Something like that."

Harry was both glad and surprised that they hadn't attacked him on sight. Even if they were among muggles, there wasn't very many of them around at the moment; _'Obliviate' _wasn't exactly an impossible option. He recalled Riddle's amused look and growled, that bastard was getting a kick out of this! Linda swat at his head, "Quit growling! You sound like a wild animal!"

Harry sat there and sulked before Linda smacked him a second time and sent him off to wait on other tables. Soon, the sound of a bell was heard; meaning that an order was ready. When Harry saw which order it was, he sent pleading looks to Adele and Carrie. They both smiled and pat him on the head. Just when he thought they were going to take care of things, they both sprinted from sight. "Damn it!"

So it was with utter defeat that the teen trudged over to the counter and collected the meal order on a large tray. He mustered all the courage he could and made his way towards booth five. Riddle spotted him halfway, so the man was smirking up a storm. Harry was sullenly setting down their plates when he heard Voldemort drawl in a mockingly sweet tone, _"Thank you, Harry!_"

The two other men, Snape and Malfoy, were pretending to be solely focused on their meals, but Harry could tell they were actually listening very attentively to this encounter. He set down their drinks and was eager to leave, but a hand snatched his wrist and yanked him down into the seat. Harry's face met with Riddle's firm chest; and he found that the hand that pulled him down was still gripping his wrist. The arm said hand was attached to, was now wrapped around his waist to keep him from escaping.

The teen was ready to start shouting at the dark lord before the man cut him off, "Do sit down if you have a moment Harry! It's been too long since we last _talked_." Harry blushed furiously as a few nearby customers took that the wrong way. One of them made a cat call!

"Let go of me." he demanded.

"Why would I do that? You see I find this position quite _comfortable_." Riddle emphasized this by placing his other hand, that up until then had been situated on his hip, low enough to squeeze his arse! The other two men ceased pretending to eat their lunch. They appeared to be having a hard time fighting off an identical pair of 'What the fuck?!' looks.

It was surprising that even though Harry had a powerful blush, he managed kept a neutral face when he spoke, "You know what?"

"Hm?" replied Riddle.

Harry picked up Riddle's glass, and smiled sweetly up at him, "I think I brought you the wrong tea."

He then proceeded to dump the contents of the glass over Riddle's head, not caring if he got some of the ice cold liquid on himself; the man received the brunt of the spill anyway. The shock made Riddle's hold on him loosen just enough for Harry to make a quick escape. While the teen slipped away, Malfoy Sr. and Snape were left gaping. "Shouldn't that get him fired?" Snape, bewildered, asked a passing blonde waitress who was identical to the one who had brought them their menus. "Not around here it doesn't, pervs!" She placed down a new tea for Riddle and left.

While Lucius and Severus spluttered in perplexity, Tom Riddle neither moved nor spoke. Ice cold tea dripped from his hair...Suddenly, his shoulders began to shake. The two men across from him froze, assuming that the shakes were from outrage. They could not see his expression, because he was staring down at where potter had been. Imagine their surprise when the dark lord broke out into highly amused laughter.

Riddle tossed another smirk at the boy who had already made it to the other side of the diner, and was taking the order of another table. He was _trying_ to anyway, the people at that table were a little busy gaping at Potter.

When bright green eyes ended up glancing back at Tom, he raised his new glass of tea towards him and received another death glare in return. After taking a refreshing sip, he grabbed a few nearby napkins and pat down his soaked hair. He looked to Lucius and Severus, "Well what are you waiting for, we have been brought a rather delicious looking meal, so let's enjoy."

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**I hope you guys found this to be a fun chapter! Don't forget to review!  
**

**Don't ask me Linda why made Harry take their orders, it wasn't really meant to make sense. What did you think about their lunch orders? Can you tell that I randomly googled them? XD**

**I think I'm going to type up at least three rough draft chapters before updating again.**

**Next: We're going to pick up the pace...Tommy Boy sets himself a new goal...**


	8. An Offer

**I'm** **SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SPO...Spo?... SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY that this took SO freaking long!**

You see, the last time I updated anything I mentioned a vacation was coming up and that I would get so much more writing done. I got sick and it became nearly impossible for me to get back into the writing vibe again. Then graduation came up and now I'm currently preparing for my first year of college. I also got distracted by other projects like this traditionally drawn comic I'm making involving wolves and zombies; as well as a digitally drawn fan-comic involving slash and Minecraft.

**Warning: if Old Tommy Boy wasn't ooc before this chapter, he definitely is now!**

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**Chapter 8: An Offer**

After their little dinning encounter Tom, Severus, and Lucius finished their meals. Severus had been eying Riddle; when they had left the diner, the man had left a rather generous tip. The food was great, but the behavior? Then again, he liked a place where the employees didn't let you walk all over them. Potter's reaction was understandable... and amusing. Oh, and the fact that they made no move to nab the boy was odd as well.

When they arrived back at the house Snape was even more surprised when Tom told them to return home. "What of Potter?" he had asked, "Weren't we going to catch him on his way back?"

Riddle had told him, "That won't be necessary as I have suddenly found myself with other ideas for the boy." He didn't elaborate, even when he returned with us shortly to retrieve Nagini. The Dark Lord and his familiar returned to Privet Drive and had left the potions master and their aristocratic friend standing in the manor, feeling very confused.

~HPTR~

Riddle was sitting at home grinning like a madman. His mind was replaying the scene from the diner. He took the teen's reaction as a challenge; most thoughts of murder and revenge were tossed out the window. He resolved himself to a new goal: **drag that little minx to bed!**

No one had ever dared been so bold with him as Harry did; it thrilled him to no end. As soon as the boy had approached him in that sexy little black apron, and spilled that cold drink over his head, he decided that Harry would be_ his _in more ways than just as a nemesis.

Nagini was in his lap, prodding him with her tail. **:Tom, Tom,**_** Tom,TOM!**_**:**

**:What is it, Nagini?:**

**:Oh good, I thought you died for a moment there... **_**Whatcha doin'?**_**:**

**:Thinking.:**

**:Is it about mating?:**

Riddle looked down at his familiar, **:What makes you think it would be about that?:**

**:Was it?:**

**:Hm, Perhaps,,,:**

**:Good, because I want grand-hatchlings; so hurry up and find a mate!:**

Tom snorted a the python's demand and was about to make a smart remark when he heard a loud thump. His gaze instantly moved to the wall across from him. Soon enough, a man's yelling followed the thump; a certain dark lord was reminded of the _loving_ family that lived just beyond that wall. He snarled from the center of his dimly lit living room; How dare that fat arse muggle lay a hand on what was his!

He knew that there was nothing that he could do at the present moment, as much as he would've have liked to; pretty green light came to mind. This was infuriating! He needed a way into the blasted house!...

Well, if the Dursleys will not give him the consent that was required, perhaps he could convince Harry. _'So it's Harry now, huh?' _He would have to be sure to make his new intentions _very _clear.

~HPTR~

Harry was left in a sour mood for the next few days. He was at work, standing in front of booth five once again, glaring menacingly at a certain dark lord who sat before him with an amused expression.

"What do you want Riddle?" The teen growled.

Riddle leaned back nonchalantly, "I think I'll try the BLT today with another peach and ginger tea; perhaps _in_ the glass this time."

The lecherous arse had been showing up at the diner everyday since the little incident. "Perhaps if you kept your hands to yourself, you'd actually get your tea in a glass rather than on your head everyday!" It was becoming a routine; Riddle would show up, try to cop a feel, and piss off Harry to no end. What was wrong with the man?! He was supposed to kill him, right? Not get into his pants!

That's right, _Voldemort, _for the past three days, had been flirting with_ Harry _and making lewd suggestions. The hell?! Maybe the peach tea had seeped into his brain.

His co-workers found his stalker to be a hoot, plus he always left big tips so Linda didn't find it necessary to kick him out; reasoning that he wasn't causing any actual harm.

Harry brought the lunch order and set it down; then, he immediately jumped back before anything pervy could happen. The man smirked and raised his glass to Harry. Before taking a sip, "Ah, tastes much better in the glass." The teen rolled his eyes and walked off.

He cleared one of the recently vacated tables, placing several dirty plates on one tray. He winced as weight that caused his shoulder to ache. His uncle's treatment had left his shoulder dislocated. He popped the bone back in himself, but the appendage was still tender. He had to be careful because his co-workers were beginning to notice a few things.

Harry was taking the tray of dishes to the kitchen, but leaped back when Riddle walked by him. The teen eyed him cautiously as the dark lord went into the men's room without sparing him a glance. Slowly Harry relaxed and returned to his previous task. When he came back out, he stepped over to table three where one of the diner's regulars was sitting. He asked the middle-aged man if he would like his usual order, but cut off his question with a loud yelp when he felt something pinch his arse.

Harry looked behind him and straight at Riddle, "Did you just _goose _me?"

The guy was grinning like a lecherous loon. Harry looked back at the customer and spotted his drink, "Is that peach and ginger tea?" The man nodded, "May I?" Another nod. Harry picked up the drink and splashed it in Voldemort's face. Riddle shrugged smugly, "Eh, A small price to pay."

~HPTR~

A week passed by and Harry was on his way to work once again. He was relieved that there were no more early morning chase scenes since Malfoy Sr's and Snape's visit. However, that didn't mean he wasn't nervous when it came to walking by the neighboring house.

The teen was exhausted. He had been taking up as many shifts as possible to avoid the Dursley household for as long as he can. When Linda asked him why, he told her that he just loved the job. He really did though; love the job (if you ignore He-Who-Is-A-Perv). He loved his co-workers, and the time away from the Dursley house; but he didn't think he could go on like this for much longer.

Looking on the bright side, Vernon Dursley had been forced to work late evenings this past week, meaning less beatings for Harry! Dudley (_shudder_) had been away on a trip with a friend. He had told Aunt Petunia it was a camping trip, but Harry didn't believe that for a second. That reminded him of another reason why he loved his job. He hadn't been stuck alone with Dudley ever since the..._molestation. _He prayed that it would never happen again.

Harry turned down the alley that he normally took to work; but instead of the normally empty concrete path, there were three tall teenagers that appeared to be older than Harry by a few years. He vaguely recognized them from Dudley's posse of pinheads. That fact alone was enough to make Harry halt. He made to turn around and take another route to work, but he was spotted.

"Hey isn't that D's freaky cousin?" Said A sandy-blonde haired boy with gross green highlights. The next thing Harry knew, he was surrounded. A tall brunette with a leather jacket and ripped jeans that was smoking a cigarette walked up to him. He eyed the smaller teen up and down with a leer. "D never mentioned that he was so cute. The name's Ryan, beautiful." The brunette blew a puff of smoke in Harry's face, making him cough, wave the smoke away, and glare at the older teen. The brunette continued, "You go to that disciplinary school for boys right? That place is for _naughty_ boys isn't it?"

Harry tried to back away and leave; but the third teen, a boy who looked like he stole Pinocchio's nose, grabbed Harry's arms and held them behind his back, tightly. "I bet those professors give out a lot a spankings." Harry was starting to wonder why people had such a fixation with his arse when the brunette placed his hand on said area. "I bet you like it rough." _That _made Harry start struggling in earnest. It seems these teens were just as bad as Dudley.

The green-eyed teen was horrified when the brunette reached for the front of his jeans.

Then, the intruding hands stilled. There was a loud ferocious growl sounding behind the group. Everyone whirled around to face the very large and very angry German Shepard dog that was barring it's teeth menacingly.

The blonde guy shrieked, "Oh shit! That dog looks pissed; it might be rabid! let's bail!"

The brunette rolled his eyes, "What, your scared of some puppy?" The dog growled and started barking madly. The brunette boy jumped back with fright and ran off. The other two glanced at each other before running after him.

The dog ceased it's snarling and sat down. He tilted his head at Harry and happily wagged his tail. The teen knelt down and scratched behind the dog's ear, "Thanks boy! You know, if I could take you home, I'd do it in a heartbeat." The dog whined an nuzzled his hand. Harry smiled sadly, he really liked this dog and wanted to do something for the stray. "...I have an idea, Come on boy!"

As Harry continued on his way with the dog happily following close behind, he said, "You know what? You need a name...How about... Dakota? I read somewhere that it means friend." He got a pleased bark.

~HPTR~

Harry's mood had brightened considerably; for a moment, he had forgotten the increasing exhaustion, and the poorly mended injuries. He told Ed and Linda about what had happened in the alley and how Dakota protected him. They agreed to help make sure some leftover meat was left out for the stray everyday. The teen was glad to know that Dakota wouldn't go hungry again.

_"__Good afternoon Harry."_

And there goes his pleasant mood.

"What do you want Riddle?" The man, grinning as smugly as usual, told him his order. Harry brought it to him and made to leave. "Come now Harry, don't take off; stick around for a moment."

The raven-haired teen growled, "I have work."

Adele walked by with a tray in hand, "Actually Harry, you have an hour break that begins right about...now." Harry gaped at her.

Riddle had a victorious glint in his eyes and reached for Harry's arm. He pulled the teen onto the seat with him. Riddle did not miss the teen's pained wince as he did this. A little more carefully, but still just as forcefully, Tom pulled Harry on the other side of him so that the teen was trapped between him and the wall.

"Will you stop manhandling me!"

The only response he got was, "Let me see your arm."

Harry furrowed his brow, "Why?"

Riddle lost patience and forced his sleeve up, revealing a purple hand mark on the teen's skin. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Riddle took his wand out and placed the tip against the mark. With a few whispered words, Harry couldn't help but sigh as the throbbing pain and the mark faded.

Riddle kept his gaze on him, "Why do let the muggles do this to you?"

Harry's eyes grew wide, "What do you mean?"

Voldemort narrowed his eyes and leaned in closer, "Those miserable wastes you call relatives! I know what they do to you!"

Harry was gaping, horrified. He pressed against the wall as much as physically possible, trying to get away from the man in front of him. "How?..."

"My house has _thin_ walls." Dear Merlin, he could hear everything?! Harry was immediately on the defense, "If you think you can use this against me, then you've got another-!" A hand covered his mouth.

"Hush, I'm not pleased with the idea of muggles harming _any_ magical child."

Harry crossed his arms and turned away from Riddle, "Yeah well, that mark wasn't from my relatives. I got jumped in the alley."

"..."

Harry turned back to the man who was staring at him exasperatedly. "What?"

"How are you still alive if everything is trying to kill you?" Harry punched him in the arm. "Oof!" While Harry glared at Riddle, Carrie came over and placed a soda in front of him, "On the house, Harry!" She gave him a wink after moving two fingers from her eyes to Riddle in an "I've got my eye on you" motion. She walked off to wait on other tables.

Riddle raised and eyebrow before turning his attention back to Harry, "I want to make you an offer."

Harry eyed him with suspicion , "What sort of an offer?"

"One that involves an oath to bring you no harm for the rest of the summer."

Harry took a swig of soda, "...go on." Knowing he had the teen's attention, Riddle elaborated, "I'm proposing a temporary truce and a way to get out of the muggle household." Now that sounded a little too good to be true; there had to be a catch. Why the hell would Voldemort make _him_ an offer like this? "And what would you want for that?"

The man grinned, a little too pleased for Harry's liking, "You will live under _my_ roof."

The teen blinked, "...what?"

"Well, what better to keep an eye on your meddling then to have you in the same building?"

Harry wasn't quite following, "...Are you high?"

Riddle rolled his eyes and moved on, "As long as you keep the snooping to a minimum. I would expect an oath in return stating that you will to not run to Old Bumblebee about anything you hear or witness in my home concerning me or my followers." He moved his arm to on the top of the booth seat and around Harry, much to the younger's discomfort. "I don't see why you aren't jumping out of your seat at this deal. I thought the only reason you were forced to live with those wretches you called relatives was because I was a threat to you. This way, nothing will keep you there. That's more then the old fool has ever offered you, I'm sure."

He took the boy's silence as a confirmation, even when he finally start spluttering denials. The teen crossed his arms stubbornly, yet unsure. **:There's no way I can trust you.: **Harry hissed at him quietly.

Riddle was becoming frustrated, he wasn't going to hurt the boy! Not anymore! He decided to start with a "just for the summer" truce. That way he could ease Harry into being more comfortable around him; but he had plenty of other plans for the beauty before him. Riddle told him,"You don't have to trust me; an oath wouldn't allow me to go back on our truce." he leaned into the boy's ear and quietly said "Think about it." before the man stood, left money for the bill, and walked out of the diner.

~HPTR~

It was late when Harry got out of work, late enough for the Dursley's to have been forced to make their own supper. The teen wasn't sure if he could get away with that unscathed.

He had taken the back exit. It was dark, but he could make out the path which was enough for him. He turned down into the same alleyway he had taken this morning, feeling certain that the boys from earlier were long gone since there was a "vicious" dog on the loose.

_Clang!_

Harry whirled around and reached for his wand out of reflex before remembering that it wasn't on his person. He glared at the fallen chunk of metal junk that had startled him. Behind it was a guilty looking German Shepard. Harry relaxed, "You scared me boy." Dakota whined and came over to lick his hand in apology. The teen spent a few minutes simply petting the dog before deciding it was time to move along. "I'll see you the day after tomorrow. Unfortunately, I have the day off tomorrow; ...leaving me alone with the Dursleys _all day_." he groaned the last part to himself.

He was a few yards away when he heard a loud yelp followed by a thump. "Dakota?"

With a sense of dread, Harry raced to the origin of the sound. His worn sneakers practically screeched to a halt as he took in this scene: Dakota was lying motionlessly on his side; a tall figure stood above him with a lead pipe. He recognized the figure to be that Ryan guy from this morning.

"Get away from him!" Snarled the smaller teen.

Ryan glanced over at him and grinned, "Well look who's here! So love, I believe we left things a little unfinished this morning; let's fix that shall we?" The taller male had an insane glint in his eyes that had Harry unknowingly backing up into the wall of the alley. Ryan came closer, his hand forcing The younger's face to the side. A wet tongue was dragged up his neck, followed by biting. Harry frantically attempted kicking his way out of the brunette's bruising grasp. "I should have known that the mutt was yours; just as feisty." The forest-eyed teen glared daggers at Ryan; why was it that he attracted such perverted lunatics? Harry snarled, "You better hope that dog is alright!"

Ryan scoffed at him, "I'm not to worried, Darlin'." He pressed roughly against Harry giving him less room to squirm. "Let go!" Then, out of now a jet of Red light slammed into Harry's assailant. Harry couldn't have been more relieved to have the crushing weight removed from his person. He swung his head to the left to see who had come to his rescue. Though the use of a magical stunner gave him a few ideas, the teen was still amazed to see Tom Riddle standing there with fury blazing in blood red eyes. The man piratically stomped over to the unconscious muggle and sharply kicked him in head, before coming over to pull him away from the alley.

"Wait!" Harry cried, pushing away from the strong chest he had been brought against. Riddle frowned as he watched Harry rush over to the injured dog. The teen fell to his knees and ran a hand through the long fur searching for a wound. He found it on Dakota's head; where he had clearly been hit with the lead pipe. The Shepard whimpered at the touch.

Overwhelmed with worry for his friend's life, Harry didn't notice Riddle walking over and kneeling by him. He did however swiftly catch the hand that held a yew wand pointed at Dakota. "What are you doing?" The teen whispered fearfully.

"I was only going to stabilize him; stop the bleeding." The older wizard explained, "Then, I'll take him to my house and treat the head trauma. He'll be fine Harry."

Harry didn't know what to make of the man's behavior. "_You _would do that?" The man was entranced by the hope and disbelief that sparkled in the younger one's eyes. Harry reluctantly allowed Riddle to move his arms under Dakota and haul him up. With the dog in his arms, Riddle gestured for Harry to follow; who did, if only to make sure Dakota would be alright.

They walked together in a straining silence until they arrived in front of Riddle's house. Before the dark lord could disappear through the front door, Harry stopped him. "I'll think about it,...you're offer." He was given a satisfied nod as the door closed.

Walking into the Dursley house, Harry made to go upstairs. He knew that since he got out of work so late, then his relatives were left to make their own supper. Needless to say, his Uncle would likely be quite cross with him, so he had no intention of running into him.

"You sneaky Freak! Get down here!" Came a dreadful bellowing from the living room. There was a slight gurgle to the whale's voice, leading the teen to believe Vernon was drunk. Lovely.

The moment he set foot in the living room, his face met with an angry, meat club of a fist. He fell to the ground. Harry was surprised that the man was drunk enough to hit him in such a visible spot. The hit broke his glasses on impact; it was a miracle that glass from the lenses did not cut into his eyes. "You think you so clever, Freak?! You think that now that you have a job you can use it as an excuse to not carry your weight around here?!" A kick landed into his stomach. With a grunt his Uncle waddle into the kitchen, _'Probably to get more whiskey, the drunk bastard.' _Harry used this chance to haul himself upstairs and to his room.

He flops onto the uncomfortable bed with a groan. Hedwig coos at him mournfully and the teen, with a great amount of effort on his part, stood back up to console the bird. "It's alright girl, just fifteen more days and we get to go to where Sirius has been staying. Dumbledore promised." She affectionately nipped his fingers through the cage bars.

Harry's eyes brightened at the idea of seeing his godfather again. Then his gaze met with the gleam of a digital clock that sat by the bed. When the time on it said midnight he smiled bitterly,' _'Happy Birthday Harry.'_

He slowly laid himself down on the bed hoping to fall asleep quickly. He took this time to think about Voldemort, actually "Riddle" seemed more appropriate at the moment. He had been so thrown off by the man's behavior. The never never expected him to seem so...human. Maybe there was more to the man than he originally believed.

* * *

**I've noticed a bit of pervert overkill in this story...Harry can't help that he's sexy! It's a curse really. (It's like that in almost all of my stories...there's something wrong with me I'm sure X3)**

**I can't guarantee when the next update will be, but I haven't given up on any of my stories! Promise!**

**Chapter nine****: ****Dudley is back...will Harry just sit there and take the extra abuse? What will be his answer to Tom be? And where the FUNBAGLES is Dumbles and the Order?!...tune in next time on MY NEW NEIGHBOR!**


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